(And: thanks to Instapundit for linking to the new policy essay by Matthew Waxman and me from the Hoover Institution, referenced at the end of this post, Law and Ethics for Autonomous Weapon Systems – thanks Glenn!) Last November, two documents appeared within a few days of each other, each addressing the emerging legal and […]
Archive | International Law
A More Succinct Way to Declare War
Co-blogger Ken Anderson praises Joan of Arc’s lengthy 1429 declaration of war against the English. I prefer the more concise approach adopted by Sviatoslav I, the 10th century Prince of Kiev: “Иду на вы.” I would loosely translate this as “I’m coming to get you.” Admirably to the point. International law mavens could learn a […]
Defining “High Seas Felonies” in Another Country
By Eugene Kontorovich on March 18, 2013 9:00 am in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, Global Governance/World Government, International Law, National Security, Uncategorized, War on Drugs
A district court recently ruled that Congress’s power to “Define and Punish… Felonies on the High Seas” extends beyond the high seas, to conduct entirely within a foreign country (on dry land), with no U.S. nexus. The case is U.S. v. Carvajal, 2013 WL 619890 (Feb. 20, 2013). The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) […]
International Criminal Court Jurisdiction Over Israeli Settlements
I have put up a new working paper on SSRN, entitled Jurisdiction Over Israeli Settlement Activity in the International Criminal Court. It is not about the legality of settlements. Rather, it is about whether repeated and growing threats by Palestine and its supporters to make an international case out of it are consistent with the […]
In Other Pirate News
By Eugene Kontorovich on March 1, 2013 1:33 pm in International Law, National Security, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
A group of armed men attack a U.S. warship on the high seas. Piracy under international law? Yesterday, the U.S. District Court in Richmond convicted a group of Somalis for an attack on the U.S.S. Ashland (such incidents are not uncommon). Boy these guys were dumb – what were they thinking? Of course, if Judge […]
“Private ends” in the Travaux Préparatoires of the Law of the Sea Treaty
A look at the legislative history does not support the notion of a subjective, political exemption for politically-motivated pirates. Kevin Jon Heller’s argument that political motives are excluded from piracy rests less on the Law of the Sea Treaty itself than on its intellectual predecessors, the League of Nations Report of 1927 and the Harvard […]
What the Definition of Piracy Means for UNCLOS & ATS
By Eugene Kontorovich on February 28, 2013 1:05 pm in Alien Tort Statute, Criminal Law, International Law, Terrorism, War and Armed Conflict
Judge Kozinski has gotten considerable criticism from liberals for ruling that Sea Shepherd is involved in piracy under international law. A subsequent post will provide additional support for the decision on the merits. Here, I’d like to look at the big picture and suggest that liberals should be thanking Kozinski: a contrary ruling would have […]
Yes, Sea Shepherd Engages in Piracy Under International Law
The Ninth Circuit was right to reverse the district court in the Sea Shepherd Case. The district court erroneously read “private ends” as excluding political ends like saving the whales. But the “private ends” requirement has never been understood to inject a subjective element to the piracy inquiry. It does not turn on whether the […]
The Sea Shepherd Decision: Sailing Ahead of Kiobel
The Ninth Circuit’s reversal of a district court decision ruling that actions by Sea Shepherd against Japanese whaling vessels could not constitute piracy because they did not satisfy the “private ends” requirement is obviously correct. (Institute of Cetacean Research v. Sea Shepard Conservation Society.) The district court’s analysis always struck me as strange and disconnected […]
C-SPAN Book TV Interview on ‘Living With the UN: American Responsibilities and International Interests’
If you’re interested, I’ll be on C-SPAN Book TV tomorrow, Sunday, February 24, at 1:20 pm, talking about my book, Living With the UN: American Responsibilities and International Order. It runs about half an hour, and though I have no idea whether I’m especially interesting on the program, I very much enjoyed doing it – […]
UN Invokes Absolute Legal Immunity in Haiti Cholera Victim Claims
As Kristen Boon reports over at Opinio Juris, the United Nations yesterday asserted complete legal immunity from any liability or claims arising from the Haiti cholera epidemic, which reportedly was the result of infected UN troops who were part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. The United Nations benefits from a special treaty, […]
Upcoming Talks in Ohio & Florida
By Eugene Kontorovich on February 17, 2013 10:45 am in Federalist Society, International Law, Israel, Uncategorized
I will be speaking at several law schools and universities in Ohio and Florida the week of March 18th (our spring break). All events are free and open to the public. Always happy to meet readers of the Conspiracy. Additional information at the links. March 18th, Case Western Reserve University Law School (noon), “Piracy and […]
Human Rights Watch Can’t Wait to Accuse Israel
By Eugene Kontorovich on February 14, 2013 3:05 pm in Human Rights Watch, International Law, Israel, Military, National Security, War on Terror
Human Rights Watch has just released a report on Israel’s recent “Pillar of Defense” operation to suppress rocket fire from Gaza. The report concludes that 18 airstrikes violated international law by not being properly targeted. I do not know if 18 is a little or a lot for an operation of this scale, as there […]
Europe OK with Occupation – and With Hezbollah
Despite the recent United Nations Human Rights Council’s report, France and many other European countries are against attempts to revive the peace process, end the occupation and remove settlements. They prefer a “long-term stalemate” (which sounds like Boogie Yaalon’s “long term conflict management plan“). Outside pressure to push peace could backfire and benefit hardliners on […]
French Use of Force in Africa
No, not Mali. Rather, the Gulf of Aden. A French fishing trawler sank a Somali pirate mothership during an exchange of fire. Several of the alleged pirates were killed; expect lawsuits about the French use of excessive force. Of course, Somali pirate apologists like to say that they have been driven to crime by massive […]